Chamber of Commerce Supports Legalization of Cannabis and Prostitution

Albanian Daily News

PublishedSeptember 22, 2016

The Chairman of Tirana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nikolin Jaka had a press conference on Wednesday during which he tacked many issues, one of which was even the legalization of cannabis and prostitution.

“Why shouldn’t Albania follow the same formula that Holland, Italy, or Greece or other European countries follow, in legalizing medicinal marijuana? Why shouldn’t Albania have the same approach as Germany and Austria to prostitution?” Jaka said.

According to him, the legalization of cannabis and prostitution would prevent the social effects and consequences coming as a result of the Albanian legislation vacuums.

On the other hand, Jaka also condemned any kind of pressure or violence towards foreign investors. After it became public that a Lebanese investor decided to leave Albania and cancel a $450 million investment, because of a violence incident against him, Mr. Jaka said that the responsible ones should be sent in front of justice.

“The incident must be condemned by everyone, and especially by the Chamber of Commerce. This must never happen to any foreign or Albanian investor or citizen. It’s important to focus on making an analysis with calmness and wait for the results of the investigation as well, because it’s not clear yet why violence happened,” Jaka said.

Another issue he focused on was also that related to the waste import. The head of the Tirana Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the legal initiative launched by members of the parliamentary committee on Production Activities, Trade and Environment to adopt amendments to the integrated waste management law to allow some waste to be imported in the country to meet the demand of Albania’s nascent recycling industry.

“The amendments to the law will allow for sustainable supply of raw materials for the manufacturing and recycling industries putting such enterprises on equal footing to compete with other similar enterprises in the region and the European Union,” Jaka said in a press statement.

According to him, allowing some waste to be imported in order to strengthen the recycling industry as the most important link in the chain of integrated management of the waste in the country.

Jaka also noted that the new amendments to the law will encourage major investments with a direct impact on employment and GDP growth.